Furniture

ABSTRACT

Furniture such as chairs, sofas, chesterfields and sleeping units constructed mainly of plywood and foam rubber wherein a plywood deck coextensive with and supported by a rectangular plywood frame carries a slab of foam rubber that is coextensive with and cemented to the said deck, the foam rubber slab designed to support the body of the user being of suitable density and firmness. For seating articles, a back rest assembly of plywood is constructed and faced with foam rubber and bolted to the deck of the base and arms of plywood are likewise faced with foam rubber and attached to the base frame and back rest. Where the article of furniture is to serve as a sleeping unit, the foam rubber slab mounted on the base deck may be cemented thereto over the entire area of the deck or a perimetral strip area of the slab may be left free of attachment.

United States Patent 151 3,685,063 Morgan [4 1 Aug. 22, 1972 [5 FURNITURE 2,678,088 5/1954 Jamison, Jr ..297/416 72 I t li 1 men or a f Ottawa Omano Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg Attorney-W. Irwin Haskett [73] Assignee: Morgan Leslie Furniture Limited,

Ontario, Canada [22] Filed: July 30, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 59,574

[52] US. Cl. ..5/345, 5/334, 297/440 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47c 4/02, A47c 23/00 [58] Field of Search ..297/218, 219, 232, 421, 416,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,512,191 5/1970 Wall et al. ..5/345 3,070,402 12/ 1 962 Stanton ..297/421 2,728,382 12/1955 Baranski ..297/218 2,233,986 3/1941 Leech ..297/2l8 2,913,041 11/1959 Mathison ..297/DlG. 1 3,095,239 6/1963 Hendrickson ..297/DlG l 5 7] ABSTRACT Furniture such as chairs, sofas, chesterfields and sleeping units constructed mainly of plywood and foam rubber wherein a plywood deck coextensive with and supported by a rectangular plywood frame carries a slab of foam rubber that is coextensive with and cemented to the said deck, the foam rubber slab designed to support the body of the user being of suitable density and firmness. For seating articles, a back rest assembly of plywood is constructed and faced with foam rubber and bolted to the deck of the base and arms of plywood are likewise faced with foam rubber and attached to the base frame and back rest. Where the article of furniture is to serve as a sleeping unit, the foam rubber slab mounted on the base deck may be cemented thereto over the entire area of the deck or a perimetral strip area of the slab may be left free of attachment.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEnAuszz 1972 sless; O63

SHEET 1 BF 2 IHVENTOR SLIE Attorne PATENTED 1411222 I972 SHEET 2 BF 2 FIG. 4.

INVENTOR fi M FURNITURE This invention relates to improvements in furniture and appertains particularly to a simple construction utilizing mainly plywood and foam rubber.

In the conventional manufacture of household fumiture such as chairs, sofas, chesterfields, beds and the like, a skeleton frame is usually fitted with a supporting spring, e.g., a box spring unit, and the cushion, with or without interior springs is placed thereon. Because springs tend to sag or break eventually, this leaves much to be desired.

The present invention dispenses entirely with springs and relies rather on a firm, strong, frame-supported deck with a cushion mounted thereon consisting of a slab of foam rubber.

It is an object of my invention to provide furniture fabricated primarily of plywood and foam rubber.

A further object of the invention is to provide fumiture such as chairs, sofas, chesterfields, beds and the like wherein a rigid rectangular plywood frame topped with a coextensive plywood deck carries a thick slab of foam rubber that serves as a resilient support for the user, with or without cushions thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide seating furniture such as chairs, sofas, etc., having a rigid frame topped with a plywood deck, and a back structure that may be separately assembled, padded and upholstered before being united, following which the remaining portion of the deck is covered with a slab of foam rubber and finally back and seat cushions are positioned.

A still further object of the invention is to provide furniture comprising a rectangular frame topped with a coextensive plywood deck with a slab of foam rubber cemented thereon that may be enclosed as a single item in a cover of mattress ticking to serve as a sleeping unit.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of furniture that can be constructed by a fast and simple method, using unskilled labor, and where such parts as base, back, and ends may be separately assembled, compactly stored or transported and easily bolted together when desired.

To the accomplishment of these and related objects as shall become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

The invention will be best understood and can be more clearly described when reference is had to the drawings forming a part of this disclosure wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sofa constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the base, with a portion of the deck broken away;

FIG. 3 is a detailed exploded view showing the relation of the base, back and end with appropriate foam rubber coverings;

FIG. 4 is a transverse, vertical section through a sofa as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bed or sleeping unit constructed in accordance with this invention, and

FIG. 6 is a sectional detail of a slightly modified sleeping unit.

In producing articles of strong, durable furniture, entirely free of the usual springs, the foundation is a base consisting of a rectangular plywood frame 1 reinforced by one or more intermediate cross braces 2 with hardwood legs 3 in the corners if desired and covered with a plywood deck 4.

In the case of a sofa, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, an inclined back rest is provided having an elongated base strip 5, corresponding with the length of the base deck 4, and a sloping back rest panel 6 that is supported by spaced triangular braces 7 resting on the strip 5 and well secured by comer blocks 8 secured to the strip and the brace (if desired similar comer blocks can be applied to the braces at their sloping edge and the back rest panel). A thin slab of foam rubber 9 is cemented to the inclined front face of the panel 6.

Side arms or ends 10 of any selected design are made of a sheet of plywood with a thin slab of foam rubber ll cemented on opposite faces with overlapping strips 12 and 13 of the same material adhered along the top and down the front, respectively, of a width to cover the edges of the plywood sheet and the foam rubber slabs l 1.

To complete the foundation or base, a thick slab of foam rubber 15 is cemented on the deck 4, with which it is coextensive; except in this case where the sofa has a back rest, the deck along one side for the full length and for a width equal to the width of the back rest base strip 5 is left uncovered and a thin slab of foam rubber 16 is affixed to the front wall of the frame 1. The slab of foam rubber 15 mounted on the deck 4 is preferably of firm high density composition.

When completely constructed, the base, back and ends are each individually upholstered, the upholstery not being shown, and when required the upholstered back is fastened to the deck of the base by bolts 17 and the ends are fastened to the base frame 1 and back rest braces 7 as by bolts 18, the bolt-passing holes 19 in the plywood having been pre-drilled as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Finally, back and seat cushions 20 and 21 which may be of soft or medium foam density rubber covered in matching upholstery are placed on the sofa.

A further embodiment of this invention is seen in the bed or sleeping unit illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. Here the same base consisting of rectangular plywood frame 1 reinforced with two cross braces 2, and having the deck 4 and corner legs is employed. The thick firm slab of foam rubber l5 coextensive with the base deck 4 is cemented thereon and a single formed cover of mattress ticking 22 envelops the foam rubber slab 15 and reaches down over the sides and ends of the base frame 1.

In the sectional detail shown in FIG. 6, the same decked base frame is used and the foam rubber slab 15 is mounted on the deck 4 but is here shown as spaced from or raised above the deck merely to follow illustration of the separable two-part mattress cover 23 utilized. The foam rubber slab 15 may be cemented to the deck as hereinbefore described but if it is, it must be left free of attachment for a distance of several inches in from the edge for its entire perimeter. The lower part 24 of this two-part cover which may be of a vinyl or like durable material encloses the vertical wall of the base frame 1 and extends several inches in over the deck 4 and is marginally secured thereto. The upper part of the mattress cover connects with the inner edge of the vinyl lower part 24 and extends out to the side of and part way up the foam rubber slab where a separable slide fastener 25 is inserted to allow of the unfastening and removal for laundry or replacement of the uppermost portion of the upper part of the mattress cover. This mattress cover construction imparts the appearance of a conventional two-piece ensemble to the sleeping unit article but furthermore provides at the double fold under the edge of the foam rubber slab an accommodating pocket 26 for the inturned margin of a contour sheet.

Throughout this description, the plywood parts mentioned are preferably constructed of inch material though the frame-carrying legs are of 2X2 inch hardwood. Where reference is made to foam rubber, this term is used in a generic sense and is to be regarded as covering any suitable synthetic or substitute material; the deck mounted slab being four or more inches thick while the back rest and end arms are faced with material one inch thick and the front of the base frame softened with a slab as thin as a quarter inch.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be manifest that a furniture construction is provided that will fulfil all the necessary requirements of such a device, but many changes could be made in the above description and many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. An article of furniture constructed of plywood and foam rubber comprising a base consisting of a reinforced rectangular frame with a covering deck coextensive with the perimeter thereof, said frame and deck being of plywood; a slab of firm, high density, foam rubber coextensive with said deck secured thereon; and a covering of mattress ticking enveloping said foam rubber slab and extending down over the deck and frame of said base that is formed as a separable twopart cover with a completely removable upper portion normally connected by a slide fastener, the lower part enclosing the base and extending in over the deck and the upper part connecting with the inturned inner edge of said lower part thereby forming a perimetral pocket under the foam rubber slab, for the accommodation of the inturned margin of a contour sheet.

2. The article of furniture according to claim 1 wherein the lower part of said cover is of vinyl material and the upper part is of mattress ticking and said slide fastener connects the upper and lower portions of said upper part. 

1. An article of furniture constructed of plywood and foam rubber comprising a base consisting of a reinforced rectangular frame with a covering deck coextensive with the perimeter thereof, said frame and deck being of plywood; a slab of firm, high density, foam rubber coextensive with said deck secured thereon; and a covering of mattress ticking enveloping said foam rubber slab and extending down over the deck and frame of said base that is formed as a separable two-part cover with a completely removable upper portion normally connected by a slide fastener, the lower part enclosing the base and extending in over the deck and the upper part connecting with the inturned inner edge of said lower part thereby forming a perimetral pocket under the foam rubber slab, for the accommodation of the inturned margin of a contour sheet.
 2. The article of furniture according to claim 1 wherein the lower part of said cover is of vinyl material and the upper part is of mattress ticking and said slide fastener connects the upper and lower portions of said upper part. 